German Navy receives last Sea Lion
The German Navy has received delivery of the final NH90 Sea Lion naval utility helicopter from a batch of 18 aircraft
The delivery completes a contract originally awarded NHIndustries by the German federal government in June 2015. The first aircraft delivered under the contract arrived in October 2019, entering service in June 2020. The Sea Lion is the successor to Germany’s Westland Mk 41 Sea King fleet.
The aircraft will be deployed in a wide range of roles, including search and rescue (SAR), maritime surveillance, vertical replenishment, as well as general transportation.
In addition to being employed in land-based operations, the Sea Lion will also be deployed on Type 702 (Berlin Class) combat support ships.
NHIndustries is also working to deliver a fleet of 31 ‘Sea Tiger’ variant NH90 helicopters to the German Navy under a contract signed in November 2020. The aircraft are intended to replace the navy’s fleet of 22 Sea Lynx helicopters from 2025. The Sea Tiger configuration is based on the Sea Lion, but boasts an additional tactical mission suite for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.